Well, if this isn’t a breakfast overload, then I don’t know what is. To clarify, this kind of breakfast is a once-a-year extravaganza and probably shouldn’t be eaten every Sunday morning, but sometimes a bit of splurge is a necessity. And this morning, every single calorie was justified.

We’ve been having a lot of work done in our our co-op and the past week was particularly hellish. The building is being re-piped and we’ve had construction workers entering our place from 8am until 5pm all week long. This weekend is a well deserved break from all the loud drilling, sawing, and bustle that’s been going on. Tomorrow morning, things will pick up again and hopefully by mid-week, we’ll have our bathroom and kitchen to ourselves once again. If we worked off site as it were, we’d be fine…but this week I’ve worn earplugs while working at my computer and even had to escape our neighbourhood once or twice just to get away from all the racket.

This weekend has been sweet for me…gardening, meeting up with friends and basking in the sunshine. My husband, however, has work deadlines looming and has been spending the weekend working late until the wee hours of the morning. Being the good wife that I am, I decided that this morning breakfast would be a treat for Cornelius. For years he’s been talking about the Belgium waffles he ate at Expo ’86 — golden waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries. It’s been his dream meal…and this morning, I made that dream come true. Crispy waffles flavoured with vanilla and lavender piled high with honey-sweetened cream and a raspberry coulis. Over the top, yes, but totally rad.

I’ve never cooked with lavender before and I think I used too much restraint. I used only about a teaspoon, but next time I’ll add a bit more for a more heady aroma. We ate this decadent breakfast outside on our balcony with our own lavender plant on the table, filling in the sensory gaps.
lavender waffles with raspberry coulis
2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
2 T vanilla sugar
1 t salt
1 1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 c melted butter
1 t dried cooking lavender crushed between your palms (I’ll add more next time)

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar and salt.

2. In a measuring cup, beat the eggs and add the milk and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture and mix lightly. Add the melted butter and crushed lavender and whisk lightly until smooth.

3. Heat waffle iron and spray with vegetable oil. Cook until golden brown. Serve with syrup or be decadent and serve with whipped cream and raspberry coulis.

raspberry coulis
1 pint frozen raspberries
2 T sugar
1/4 c water

Place everything into a pot and boil. Reduce liquid until thickened slightly. Serve warm over waffles and whipped cream.